When I first contacted the Pentagon public affairs office for an interview on the Better Buying Power initiative, I was willing to interview any subject matter expert they could line me up with. Shortly after I sent in my query, the government shut down, the public affairs source I was working with was furloughed and my query was going nowhere fast.

Big Data increasingly is viewed as the future of knowledge management, aided and abetted by the cloud. And, it would seem to be a perfect fit in the field of intelligence. But two longtime experts in intelligence take opposing views on the utility of big data for intelligence.

Budget sequestration has made obtaining government-mandated training more difficult—this despite government requirements that individuals earn continuing education units (CEUs) and certification maintenance units (CMUs)”to keep current in their professions. Many of the opportunities in the past were centered around large-scale, efficient training that could certify more people by bringing groups together. However, travel restrictions have complicated this centralized collaboration.

The world is buzzing about the Summer Olympics in London, and a new webpage from the American Forces Press Service is helping fans track some very special athletes. The Olympic report features profiles, articles and images of service members competing in the games.

Every day at airports around the country airplanes land and take off with a rhythm and flow we don't really appreciate until--usually--something disrupts it. But this past May, one blogger witnessed an impromptu reception for World War II veterans that encapsulates what honor really looks like.

After several months of drafts and comments, the U.S. Navy now has released the request for proposal (RFP) for its Next Generation Enterprise Network, or NGEN. The 1,100-page RFP provides guidance for prospective bidders on a contract that likely will total 4.5 billion dollars.

Better networks mean more opportunities for cyber marauders--and greater difficulty for network defense experts, noted Lt. Gen. Robert Schmidle, USMC, the deputy commander of the U.S. Cyber Command. He cited knowledge about network health, adversary space and "the gray area in between" as the criteria for successful cyber situational awareness, but he also warned of personnel structure shortcomings.

The staff at AFCEA headquarters wishes everyone a safe and joyous holiday season. HQ offices will be closed on Monday and Tuesday, Dec. 26 and 27, as well as on Monday, Jan. 2, 2012. See you next year!

At a time when the European Union and the United States are both facing moderate to severe austerity in the years ahead, it's more important than ever to do more with less. Claude-France Arnould, chief executive of the European Defense Agency, discussed key priorities for the organization in the coming lean years.

Through the Department of Defense National Survey of Employers, the department hopes to better understand the benefits and challenges of employing members of the National Guard and Reserve. Now that the survey has reached its halfway point, the defense department would like all employers who received the survey to respond, as their feedback is needed to develop future Guard and Reserve policies.

After some growing pains and a shake out period, will a true democracy with all its flaws and opportunities emerge, or will it be hijacked by a small core group of extremists? Or will it just be more of the same old story?

The Defense Department's FY 2012 budget proposal features $2.3 billion for improved cyber capabilities, according to figures released this afternoon. Key elements of that funding include $0.5 billion for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to invest in cyber technologies. Funding also will be provided to the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) for cyber identity, monitoring and enforcement.

Back in October, AFCEA's Professional Development Center hosted a series of speakers talking about issues facing today's leaders. The Executive Leadership Series lives on in video form, as SIGNAL Editor in Chief Robert K. Ackerman spent a few minutes with each of the speakers prior to their presentations. The result is Lens on Leadership, six short videos in which each speaker shares wisdom from his or her area of expertise.

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The U.S. Army is procuring Motorola’s WAVE software technology to fill a need for a unified application that links two-way radios, smartphones, telephones and personal computers together for seamless communications. The $14.1 million contract provides the Army with unlimited access to the capability. WAVE will act as the glue to patch together devices normally incapable of communicating with one another.